The centre man is generally the most powerful in the team; his position does not call for special smartness, but he ought to be capable of strong efforts to prevent the ball from being carried behind him. To right and left of him, on the wings, stand the two fastest runners of the team, men well versed in the art of bouncing an oval football, so as not to lose control over it, as they run.

If the ball, after having cleared the heads of the 'ruck,' reaches one of these outlying ends of the centre line, and he proves to be a quick runner who is capable of dodging one or two scattered men of the opposite side, he may readily carry it forward so as to place it with a drop kick fair in the hands of the centre forward or 'goal-sneak as he is popularly called, who then has every chance of putting it through.

The half-forward men on the wings ought to be ready to protect these centre wing men in their running, and do all in their power to secure the ball for the centre forward. This process of protecting another player while he leisurely runs and bounces the ball as he goes is one of the most generous features in the game, and one that often gives scope for no little skill. It is popularly known as 'shepherding.' A man shepherds another who is running by keeping antagonists away. It can be done only for a time, as others eager for the fray soon bear down from all sides, and the play would become a 'scrimmage,' which, being stopped by the whistle of the field umpire, would leave the ball neutral with both sides evenly disposed around it. Judgment is shown in determining how long it is possible to 'shepherd' another, and the one who is 'shepherded' ought to take his kick at the right moment and in the right direction so as to put it well forward in the hands of a friend. Another way of 'shepherding' a fellow-player is to protect him against interference when he is going for a 'mark.' A man who can kick well ought to be assisted to get the ball, and if it is whirling through the air in his direction, his fellow-players ought to have their shoulders ready to jostle and impede anyone of the opposite side likely to be a rival for the 'mark.' A match is often won by this species of subordination and organised assistance.

The three men who stand on the back line should be skilful in marking the ball; the centre back especially should be a good marker, a long strong kicker, and should have a cool head and good judgment, in order by his ingenuity and determination to divert the ball from the danger of proximity to the goal of which he is guardian.

If the players have all been judiciously chosen for their parts, and if they have had some practice together, everything ought to go forward as if the whole team were an organism possessed of the one mind and the one object: every man zealous to play into the hands of his fellow and to give him a chance of distinguishing himself in his own particular line.

Strength is needed, but it is not brute strength; not the strength of the bully, but a strength adorned with lightness and made efficient by skill. To prevent any tendency that players might have towards a reversion into savagery, the laws against roughness are stringently enforced. Before the match is begun the field umpire examines the boots of all the players, and declines to suffer anyone on the field whose soles are armed with projecting nails or with iron plates, and no Australian player ever wears the shin protectors which are an awkwardness and disfigurement to the English footballer.

If the umpire saw a player purposely kick the shins of another, the chirp of his whistle would at once be heard, and a free kick would reward the player whose shins were kicked, and prove an effectual warning to the kicker, whose own side also would have something serious to say to him for injuring the prospects of their game by infringement of rules.

All this means that the central or field umpire has to be close up to the play at all times. The English umpire, with his tall hat and neatly folded umbrella, would be out of place, The field umpire, dressed in a white tight-fitting suit, has to run in order to keep close to the ball; he has to watch the play, to bounce the ball, to decide instantly as to infringement of rules, and yet to keep himself out of the way so that the game may not be impeded by his presence.

In Victoria there are eleven of these umpires licensed by the Association, and told off each Tuesday by the Committee for their several matches on the Saturday.

The goal umpires also require a licence from the Association; but while the field umpire has a guinea and a half, they receive only half a guinea each for their services.

Thus it costs two guineas and a half to provide umpires for a match. This sum is paid by the competing clubs, but the umpires are in no way dependent on the clubs. Their business is faithfully to serve their employer, the Association, by carrying out the rules in perfect simplicity and impartiality, and no case has ever yet occurred in which an umpire has been dismissed or even so much as reprimanded for unfairness, although from time to time a defeated club has been known to indulge in growls among its own members. They have growled, but only on two occasions have cases been stated, and neither complaint was sustained after full inquiry had been made.

The field umpires are alone responsible for the enforcement of the rules, and it is from their official report that the Association makes its record of the result. In this report must be included a statement of any infringement of rules which cannot be met by penalties given on the field.

The umpires are of course an openly professional class; but professionalism among players is strictly discouraged, the rules directing that 'any player receiving payment directly or indirectly for his services 'shall be disqualified, and any club known to pay a footballer 'shall be fined ten pounds, and in addition lose the match, and be disqualified for the remainder of the season.'